“MOUNTING EVIDENCE POINTS TO THE Web as a critical communications and educational tool for the 2008 Presidential election. Indeed, voters are relying on the Web more than any medium to research candidates and their positions, according to a new study from online ad network Burst Media,” reports MediaPost Publications this week.

The survey revealed that the Internet is more importantto likely voters than TV, newspapers, radio, magazines, or direct mail.

By surveying 2,100 online users who are likely to vote in the 2008 Presidential election (likely voters), Burst found that:

• over 20% of likely voters have already visited a presidential candidates website;
• one quarter of likely voters have clicked on a candidate or advocacy groups online advertisment;
• likely voters are willing to watch a presidential candidate in an online video clip, and listen to a candidate in a podcast.

“One-quarter of likely voters cited the Internet as the best place to research candidates' positions and general election issues, according to Burst. By contrast, about a fifth--21.3%--cited TV as the ideal source of election information, while 17.3% said newspapers were their key source of information. Trailing, just 6.9% cited radio, 4.4% said magazines were best, and 3.3% cited direct mail,” reports MediaPost Publications.

"Another interesting stat: Only about four in 10 survey respondents who said the Internet is the best place to gather election information have visited a candidate’s website - that means six in 10 are gathering information about presidential candidates from websites and online sources the candidates don't control."

"Message to candidates: Great campaign websites stuffed with video and blogs and podcasts aren't enough. To engage voters, you have to reach them in the wider - and wilder - world of blogs and YouTube and other social media."

But the Burst survey isn’t the only recent study to point out the impact that the web is expected to have on the 2008 Election.

PRNewswire reported yesterday that a Gomez Survey reveals that many web-savvy voters believe the candidate with the best performing web site will win the oval office.

“Nearly half of theparticipants in a nationwide survey plan to visit at least one of the 2008 presidential candidates' web sites during the campaign and, within that group, more than half are current or potential online donors. The survey, commissioned by Gomez, Inc., the leader in web application experience management, was designed to assess the impact of the performance of the 2008 presidential candidates' web sites on their race to the White House.”

“Of the 43 percent of survey respondents who have already visited or who plan to visit one of more of the candidate’s web sites, 58 percent believe there will be a correlation between the candidate with the best performing web site and the ultimate winner of the presidential race.”

So, there we have it, the political world IS changing, as David All of TechPresident reports.

I do not doubt the Internet will, and are all ready have/having a significant impact on the 2008 Election!

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